Roy explodes for 52 in Blazers' win

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Guard Brandon Roy exploded for a career-high 52 points to inspire the Portland Trail Blazers to a 124-119 win over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Thursday.

Roy made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:01 left and tallied 14 in the final quarter as the Blazers improved to 17-10.

His scoring burst was the second best single-game output in Blazers' history.

"This was the best game of my career," Roy told reporters. "My confidence was huge and I felt like every shot I took was going to go in."

Amare Stoudemire led a balanced Suns' scoring effort with 23 points and added eight rebounds. Phoenix (15-11) led 117-115 with just over two minutes left.

Portland's LaMarcus Aldridge scored two of his 16 points with 1:25 remaining to tie the game at 119-119 before Roy took over.

The Blazers' third-year player was 14-for-27 from the field and made 19-of-21 free throws. He has now scored 29 points or more in five straight games, including a 38-point game against the Los Angeles Clippers on December 12.

Steve Blake recorded 22 points and 10 assists while Travis Outlaw chipped in 14 points for Portland.

Matt Barnes made five 3-pointers and finished with 22 points, while Steve Nash had 15 and 11 assists for the Suns, who had their two-game winning streak snapped.

Phoenix (15-11) has enjoyed a spike in its offense as of late, partially brought on by high-flying guard Jason Richardson, who was acquired in a trade with the Charlotte Bobcats last week.

Richardson finished with 17 points in his third game with the team.

"It's always tough to lose team mates, and Boris (Diaw) and Raja (Bell) had been here a while, but I was very excited to get (Richardson)," Barnes said. "I know he's really going to help our team this year."

(Reporting by Jahmal Corner, Editing by Ossian Shine)